Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 2005 musical fantasy comedy film
directed by Tim Burton and written by John August, based on the 1964
British novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. The film stars Johnny Depp
as Willy Wonka and Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket. The storyline
follows Charlie, who wins a contest and, along with four other contest
winners, is led by Wonka on a tour of his chocolate factory, the most
magnificent in the world. Development for a second adaptation of Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory (filmed previously as Willy Wonka & the
Chocolate Factory in 1971) began in 1991, which resulted in Warner Bros.
providing the Dahl Estate with total artistic control. Prior to Burton's
involvement, directors such as Gary Ross, Rob Minkoff, Martin Scorsese
and Tom Shadyac had been involved, while actors Bill Murray, Nicolas
Cage, Jim Carrey, Michael Keaton, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, Adam Sandler,
and many others, were either in discussion with or considered by the
studio to play Wonka. Burton immediately brought regular collaborators
Depp and Danny Elfman aboard. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
represents the first time since The Nightmare Before Christmas that
Elfman contributed to a film score using written songs and his vocals.
Filming took place from June to December 2004 at Pinewood Studios in the
United Kingdom. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was released to
positive critical reception and was a box office success, grossing $475
million worldwide.

Inside the Factory - Critical response - Netflix

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of
83% based on 222 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's
critical consensus reads, “Closer to the source material than 1971's
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
is for people who like their Chocolate visually appealing and dark.” On
Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100, based
on 40 critics, indicating “generally favorable reviews”. Audiences
polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “A–” on an A+ to
F scale. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly praised Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory, writing “Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka may be a stone
freak, but he is also one of Burton's classic crackpot conjurers, like
Beetlejuice or Ed Wood.” Roger Ebert gave an overall positive review and
enjoyed the film. He was primarily impressed by Tim Burton's direction
of the younger cast members, but was disappointed with Depp's
performance: “What was Depp thinking of? In Pirates of the Caribbean he
was famously channeling Keith Richards, which may have primed us to look
for possible inspirations for this performance.” Mick LaSalle from the
San Francisco Chronicle found Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Burton's
“best work in years. If all the laughs come from Depp, who gives Willy
the mannerisms of a classic Hollywood diva, the film's heart comes from
Highmore, a gifted young performer whose performance is sincere, deep
and unforced in a way that's rare in a child actor.” Peter Travers wrote
in Rolling Stone magazine that “Depp's deliciously demented take on
Willy Wonka demands to be seen. Depp goes deeper to find the bruises on
Wonka's secret heart than what Gene Wilder did. Depp and Burton may fly
too high on the vapors of pure imagination, but it's hard to not get
hooked on something this tasty. And how about that army of
Oompa-Loompas, all played by Deep Roy, in musical numbers that appear to
have been choreographed by Busby Berkeley on crack.” Ann Hornaday of The
Washington Post criticized Depp's acting. “The cumulative effect isn't
pretty. Nor is it kooky, funny, eccentric or even mildly interesting.
Indeed, throughout his fey, simpering performance, Depp seems to be
straining so hard for weirdness that the entire enterprise begins to
feel like those excruciating occasions when your parents tried to be
hip. Aside from Burton's usual eye-popping direction, the film's
strenuous efforts at becoming a camp classic eventually begin to wear
thin.” In 2007, Gene Wilder said he chose not to see the film. “The
thing that put me off ... I like Johnny Depp, I like him, as an actor I
like him very much ... but when I saw little pieces in the promotion of
what he was doing, I said I don't want to see the film, because I don't
want to be disappointed in him.” In 2013, when Wilder was asked about
the Burton remake, he said “I think it's an insult. It's probably Warner
Bros.' insult.” He also criticized the choices that Burton made as a
director, saying “I don't care for that director. He's a talented man,
but I don't care for him doing stuff like he did.”